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Passage

At Mangalore, Tipu inflicted a crushing defeat on the large English army under Campbell. Then, Tipu left for Cuddapah to join his commander Qamar-ud-din. There he defeated the troops under traitor Sayyad Mohammad and then routed the English army sent under Montgomery to assist Sayyad Mohammad.

At the end of the battle, Tipu looked down on Sayyad Mohammad who surrendered before him and begged for mercy. His cold calm figure glowed in splendid armor. He listened attentively but without change of expression. Every onlooker thought that he could forecast what the answer would be, for Sayyad Mohammad had added to his treachery by killing in cold blood hundreds of Tipu’s loyalists. Tipu replied’ I grant you your life, not in forgetfulness of what you did but in remembrance of who your father was. ′ Sayyad Mohammad’s father was a man of religion, attached to the tomb of Gisu Daraz at Gulbarga.

The reply almost led to a quarrel between Tipu Sultan and his trusted commander, Qamar-ud-din. The quarrel ended only when Tipu Sultan cried ‘You call me a king but question each act. It seems, I am your king only when I command to kill. But I cannot, it seems, command to spare a life, if I choose. ’ This was not a kingly act, Qamar-ud-din thought. We are only increasing the number of wolves against us, he wanted to say. But after this outburst, he knew, it was no use arguing further.